Kurri Kurri is becoming the track and field throwing capital of the Hunter on the powerful shoulders of Matthew Rees and Aiden Harvey.
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Weston javelin thrower Matthew Rees continues to be at the forefront of his sport after being named in 55-strong Australian athletics team for the World Under 20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, from July 19-24.
Rees, who studies at the University of Newcastle after attending Kurri Kurri High School, earned selection with a qualifying throw of 69.20 metres with his last-chance effort at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships in Perth this month.
The distance gave him silver in the men’s under-20 division behind Queensland’s Conor Warren, who threw 72.15m.
Current Kurri Kurri High School student Aiden Harvey has put the athletics world on notice by claiming the Australian under-18 shot put title.
Harvey, 16, his title-winning distance of 17.17m was more than 1.5m short of his personal best of 18.7m.
“I set my personal best at the country championships, which were the qualifying event for the national titles. My goal at this stage is to just continue competing and improving and getting into the Australian Institute of Sport, when I finish school,” the year 12 student, who has set his sights on competing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games said.
“I’m probably two to three metres short of the qualifying mark but I’ve got some time to make that up.”
Harvey trains six days a week, with the 90-minute to two- hour sessions dived between throwing and the gym, where he works on his explosive strength.
“In the lead-up to competitions I was doing two sessions a day,” he said.
Harvey said he was not having any problems combing his school commitments and training schedule.
“If anything I find the training a needed distraction,” he said.